Leadership Skills Are Determinants of Simulated Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Performance

In a simulation study, researchers in England assessed the effect of leadership skills on the quality of cardiac arrest resuscitation (advanced life support). Forty clinicians, all advanced life support team leaders in their practices, each directed a cardiac arrest simulation with three team members unknown to them. Two investigators independently reviewed manikin data and video recordings of the sessions to measure leadership skills (Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire score), complex technical skills (hands-off ratio, preshock pause, time to first shock, and Cardiac Arrest Simulation Test score), and simple single-operator technical skills (chest compression rate and depth, ventilation rate).

Teams whose leaders had the highest …